Committee on Resolutions named for 2014 SBC

BALTIMORE (BP) – Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) President Fred Luter has named the members of the Committee on Resolutions for the June 10-11 SBC annual meeting in Baltimore.
Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, appointed the committee in keeping with the provision in SBC Bylaw 20 that its members be named 75 days prior to the start of the annual meeting.
Luter named David Dykes of Texas as committee chairman. Dykes is pastor of Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler.
The other committee members, in alphabetical order, are:
• Whitney Alexander, homemaker, member of First Baptist Church, Gadsden, Ala.
• Matthew Arbo, assistant professor of Christian ethics, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; member, Redeemer Fellowship, Kansas City, Mo.
• Greg Belser, pastor, Morrison Heights Baptist Church, Clinton, Miss.
• Roger Freeman, pastor, Grace Baptist Church, Nashville.
• Matthew Hall, vice president of academic services, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky.; member, Clifton Baptist Church, Louisville.
• Chris Osborne, senior pastor, Central Baptist Church, College Station, Texas.
• Ramon Osorio, national church mobilizer, North American Mission Board, Alpharetta, Ga.; member, First Redeemer Church, Cumming, Ga.
• Jay F. Shell, attorney; member of West Baptist Church, Batesville, Ark.
• Kevin Smith, assistant professor of Christian preaching, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky.; pastor, Watson Memorial Baptist Church, Louisville.
The committee’s composition, according to Bylaw 20, must include at least two members who served the previous year, with Dykes and Arbo meeting this requirement. Bylaw 20 also stipulates that the committee include at least three SBC Executive Committee members. This year they are Dykes, Shell and Osborne.
The procedure for submitting resolutions is as follows according to Bylaw 20:
• Proposed resolutions may be submitted as early as April 15 but no later than 15 days prior to the SBC annual meeting, giving the Resolutions Committee a two-week period in which to consider submissions. The committee also may propose resolutions for consideration during its deliberations. Resolutions may not be submitted during the annual meeting.
• Proposed resolutions must be accompanied by a letter from a church qualified to send a messenger to the SBC annual meeting certifying that the individual submitting the resolution is a member in good standing.
• Proposed resolutions preferably should be submitted by e-mail or mailed to the Committee on Resolutions in care of the SBC Executive Committee, 901 Commerce St., Nashville, TN 37203. The drafts must be typewritten, titled, dated and include complete contact information for the person and his or her church.
• No person will be allowed to submit more than three resolutions per year.
• If a properly submitted resolution is not forwarded by the Committee on Resolutions to the SBC annual meeting, a two-thirds vote of messengers would be required to bring the proposed resolution to the convention floor.

Ethics

MBC Executive Director John Yeats: “We must remain vigilant until every child is safe in his/her mother’s womb. We must also be much more caring for every mother whose life circumstances are so tragic that she would contemplate a medical procedure or abortifacient to end her child’s life.”

Missouri

Several Christian ministries – including Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s “For the Church” (FTC) – will offer events on topics ranging from growing healthy churches to current issues in the Southern Baptist Convention for messengers and others attending the SBC’s June 11-12 annual meeting in Birmingham, Ala.